Maria Magdalena Brunkhorst was born on January 13, 1892, so today would be her 131st birthday. Magdalena was the daughter of Johann and Magdalene (Mahnken) Brunkhorst. She was the 3rd and last child in this Brunkhorst family. Magdalena was baptized at Concordia Lutheran Church in Frohna. An image of her baptism record from that congregation’s books is pictured here.

Magdalena’s mother died in 1894 before she even reached her 2nd birthday. That means we never see Magdalena with her mother in a census entry. Magdalena is found in the 1900 census at the age of 8. Her father was a farmer in the Brazeau Township. A 20 year-old Martha Schade was a servant in that household. No doubt Johann Brunkhorst needed help with housework, cooking, and raising 3 young children.

Next, we find Magdalena in the 1910 census as a teenager.

We now turn our attention to the man who would become Magdalena’s husband. His name was Martin Lohmann who was born on August 11, 1892, so he was about 7 months younger than Magdalena. Martin was the 5th child of 9 born to Peter and Margaretha (Versemann) Lohmann. Martin was baptized at Salem Lutheran Church in Farrar. We can take a look at his baptism record from that church’s books below. It is one of those rare records in which the child is not given a middle name or two.

Since Martin was living in the Salem Township in 1900, we have to view him in a census entry from those pages that are often so difficult to read. I usually enlarge images from those pages so they are a little more readable. Martin was 7 years old at the time and his father was a farmer.

I find some discrepancy in the story of the Lohmann family that is found in a family binder we have in our research library. It gives this wonderful description of several events that took place in this family over the years. However, it says that by 1908, all of the sons had moved to Shattuck, Oklahoma.

Oldest son Henry Lohmann moved to Shattuck OK around 1906, as indicated by his marriage record below. Peter and his other sons followed and moved to Shattuck OK around 1908. Later they all moved to Alva OK. Daughters Maria & Ida moved to Oklahoma later.  All five brothers and three sisters had farms within 3 or 4 miles of each other.  The five brothers built their big barns and also built or remodeled their houses. Henry was the main carpenter. Everyone help each other. To this day, one can see the towering barns from a distance. The brothers also formed a butchering crew, and with the help of their wives & sisters, they went from place to place, butchering around 6 to 8 hogs. They made some of the best “gritze wurst”, summer sausage, head cheese, cured hams & bacon.  The brothers also ran a threshing crew. Each brother had their job to do. Theo stood on top of the threshing machine, checking the grain. Henry got the jobs & Fred ran the steam engine. In 1956, a tornado damaged 3 of the Lohmann’s farms, Joe’s, Theo’s & Henry’s. They all worked together helping each other out, restoring the damage.  The farms that were owned by the Lohmann brothers are now being farmed by their children & grandchildren.  Their main purpose in life was their faith and trust in God. They donated many an hour for church by building, repairing and painting at the Lutheran church and school;

That does not jive with the 1910 census shown here. The Lohmann household, including Martin and his younger brothers and some sisters, were still living in Perry County after 1908.

That leads us up to the marriage of Martin Lohmann and Magdalena Brunkhorst which took place on November 12, 1916. By that time, we do know that Martin had moved to Shattuck, Oklahoma. Martin came back to Perry County to get married. Since Martin and Magdalena were members of neighboring churches and attended neighboring schools, it is not hard to imagine how they got to know one another. These two were married at Magdalena’s church, Concordia, Frohna, and the marriage record displayed here says that Martin was from Ellis County which is where Shattuck is located in Oklahoma.

We can also view this couple’s marriage license. This document also says Martin was from Ellis County, Oklahoma.

Martin had a World War I draft registration completed in 1917. This document gives Shattuck as his address. It only lists his wife as a dependent. Their first child would be born in late 1917.

Because we now have the church records for Zion Lutheran Church in Alva, Oklahoma, our German Family Tree lists 5 children born to this pair. The first 3 children do not have baptism records in the Zion books, but all 5 children were confirmed at that church. The last 2 children have baptism records in the Zion books. We find the Lohmann family with their first 2 children living in Ellis County, Oklahoma when the 1920 census was taken. Martin was a farmer.

The Lohmann family must have moved to Alva, Oklahoma before 1923 because their 4th child was baptized there. The map below shows both Shattuck and Alva being located in the western portion of Oklahoma near that state’s panhandle.

The 1930 census shows Martin and Magdalena with 4 children, and they were now living in Alva. Martin was still farming.

One more son was born in 1933, so we see all 5 of the Lohmann children in the 1940 census. Two sons were now old enough to be helping on Martin’s farm.

The last census that is viewable by the public is the one taken in 1950. Four of the Lohmann’s children had gotten married in the 1940’s, so we find only their youngest son, Marvin, living with his parents. Martin is shown as having no occupation, and Marvin was a farm machinery repairman.

Martin Lohmann died in 1963 at the age of 71; Magdalena Lohmann died in 1986 at the age of 93. These two are buried together in what is simply called the Lutheran Cemetery on Findagrave, but that is the cemetery for Zion Lutheran Church in Alva, Oklahoma.

This post is not the first one to discuss Lohmann’s living in Alva, Oklahoma. It may not be the last. I know that there enough Perry County natives who are buried in the cemetery in Alva to inspire me to call that little town a suburb of Perry County, just like the town of Potter, Nebraska which was discussed in yesterday’s post.